One of my favorite parts of the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space 9 is the beginning because it is the fist time we get to see parts of the battle at Wolf 359. That is not to say that I feel that The Best of Both Worlds pt. II (the ST:NG episodes where this battle takes place) was lacking, but being able to see the destruction one Borg ship could cause was more emotional then just hearing about it. No, those scenes were not necessary, but as fill in details I remember them fondly.

Deadpool & Cable #25 is like that first episode of DS9 in the way that it fills in missing details that I did not even realize I cared about. For those of you who do not remember (and I had to do some back reading for this review) back in Cable & Deadpool #42 (or X-Men #200 depending on your p.o.v.) Gambit and Sunfire blew up Providence (Cable's paradise floating city) with Cable on board. The X-Men, who never learn anything from history, assumed that because Cable was on Providence when it blew that he was dead and they moved on with their lives. Jump ahead five whole issues and we are smack dab in the middle of Messiah Complex with a last page reveal that Cable had rescued Hope (a baby at the time) from the Purifiers and the Marauders with no further details as to how he managed this.

Well, as it turns out, seemingly because he is from the future, Cable knew where and when hope would be born and set off to rescue her before any X-Men even knew she needed it. He knew that this would be difficult so he called the only person he knew he could count on to have his back, his good buddy Deadpool. As not to spoil too much (can you spoil a flashback issue?), the rest of the book is a fun action packed ride that tells a great story while reminding us that Cable and Deadpool did actually become friends with Cable being a major factor in Deadpool’s desire to be a better person.
Duane Swerczynski shows again that he can write the hell out of Deadpool (see Messiah War) and if he ever wants a limited series or to take over the main on-going Marvel should support this. His grasp of Deadpool’s absurdity, disregard of the fourth wall, and chaotic nature is a wonderful combination of Kelly, Nicieza, and Way. Swerczynski’s use of dialogue, much like during Messiah War, has Deadpool making self referential comments about the fact that he and Cable are in a comic book and even comments on how this issue fills in holes that Cable’s readers were missing. Swerczynski goes on to use Deadpool as a mouth piece to mock the number of Deadpool books on the shelves.

Paco Medina does a superb job of illustrating this comic by maintaining a level of seriousness while still presenting a colorful somewhat cartoony comic book. In an apparent throwback to the 1990’s there is even an absurdly large gun that comes out of nowhere. Medina then caps of the issue by changing styles all together and ends the issue with a magnificent homage to Bachalo’s image of Cable holing Hope at the end of X-Men #205.
My one gripe with this comic is that Cable tells Deadpool that protecting Hope is the reason he came back to the present. Now, I don’t know if he means that when Providence blew up he went to the future or if he means that ever since he has been in our time his goal has been to protect Hope. If it is the second, then this is one of the most glaring retcons of a character that I have ever seen and contradicts 20 years (holy crap, Cable has been around for over 20 years!) of established history. But, even with that complaint I can choose to believe that he meant the first interpretation.

All in all this might be one of my favorite singe issues of a comic book in a long time.
Score – 9/10

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About the Author - GHERU

RU, or as he’s known in the writers’ room: the cute one, is relatively unappreciated in his time. RU’s YouTube show, RUviews is watched by literally multiple people every month and his Outhouse articles have helped line many a bird cage. Before you send RU a message, he knows that there are misspelled words in this article, and probably in this bio he was asked to write. RU wants everyone to know that after 25+ years of collecting he still loves comic books and can’t believe how seriously fanboys take them. RU lives in Akron Ohio (unfortunately) with WIFE, ‘lilRuRu, and the @DogGodThor. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, & even Google+ (if anyone still uses that).